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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26044024">Car Accidents and Regrets</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/inoreuct/pseuds/inoreuct'>inoreuct</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!! High School FanFictions [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Car Accidents, Fluff, Iwaizumi Hajime is an Idiot, M/M, Soft Iwaizumi Hajime, iwaoi - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:08:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,239</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26044024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/inoreuct/pseuds/inoreuct</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Iwaoi!!! Just to clear things up, any normal text within the italicised flashback sections would be the character thinking :) And yes, there will be a happy ending 😂</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!! High School FanFictions [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>98</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Panic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The entire Aoba Johsai team and their coaches, Coach Irihata and Coach Mizoguchi, was packed inside Ward 27-A of the Miyagi General Hospital along with Iwaizumi Hajime’s mother, crowded around a single bed, a heavy silence filling the room and blanketing them all. Their teammate, Oikawa Tooru, was lying unconscious on the mattress, his chest, forearms and head wrapped in bandages. His normally tanned skin was deathly pale, multiple tubes and wires connected to each arm and hooked up to drip bags and beeping machines. Iwaizumi sat back in his hard plastic hospital chair and sucked in a shaky breath, scrubbing his hands over his face, the accident that happened only a few hours ago playing over and over </span> <span class="s2">and over</span> <span class="s1"> in his head like a broken projector stuck on repeat.</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">                             *</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"><em>Iwaizumi’s eye twitched irritably as his boyfriend chattered away. Well, Oikawa wasn’t exactly his boyfriend, they weren’t official yet, and the most they had done was kiss. They were on their way home after school, heading back together just like they had every day ever since they met when they were kids. Oikawa had his thumbs tucked under the straps</em> <em>of his schoolbag and he was just talking, and talking, and talking, and walking so. Damn. Slowly. Iwaizumi actually had to slow down pretty drastically so he wouldn’t leave the idiot behind. He wouldn’t shut up about the newest episode of his favourite anime, and how much he wanted to beat Karasuno, and how “Iwa-chan is such a meanie!”.</em></span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><em>Iwaizumi couldn’t take it anymore. The thin thread of patience he had been clinging on</em> <em>to snapped and he stopped walking abruptly, turning around to face Oikawa. “Will you just shut up already, Shittykawa?! Move your nonexistent ass! I don’t think you realise that I don’t care about your stupid anime, and beating Karasuno can wait. We have an English exam in three days, baka! If we don’t get home and study, we’re gonna fail. You might not care about your studies, but I do!” he snapped harshly, his annoyance clear in his voice. Not bothering to see the captain’s reaction, he turned around and walked away, slowly speeding up.</em> <em>By the time he got to the familiar pedestrian crossing they walked across almost every day, he was nearly sprinting, his emotions swirling wildly in his chest. </em></span> <span class="s1">God, why’s he gotta be so bloody infuriating sometimes?! If he would just shut up for once in his lif-</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"><em>“IWA-CHAN, LOOK OUT!!” Iwaizumi flinched as Oikawa’s loud voice rang in his ears, instinctly curling up into a ball and bracing for impact as he was shoved roughly to the side. He hit</em> <em>the ground hard, the added weight of his backpack dragging him down along with the force of Oikawa’s push. Even with his arms wrapped around his head, he heard the ear-piercing screech of tires skidding on the tarmac, then a horrible </em>BANG! <em>and a couple of sharp cracks, a group of them at first and then a final one at the end. </em></span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">What the... </span> <span class="s2"><em>He stayed curled up on the rough ground until a heavy silence filled the air, bringing with it a profound sense of dread. He slowly relaxed his tense body,</em> <em>propping himself up with his hands and ignoring the little pieces of grit and gravel biting into his palms and legs. </em></span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">He couldn’t process what he saw. A car had stopped in the middle of the road, the woman behind the wheel frozen with a horrified expression on her face. And about ten feet in front... Oikawa was sprawled out on the ground, his bag not far away. </span> </em> <span class="s1">No. No, he can’t... He can’t be... </span> <span class="s2"><em>Iwaizumi scrambled up, refusing to let his body acknowledge the</em> <em>little stings of pain across it as the gravel cut deeper into his skin. As he stumbled to Oikawa and stood over his best friend, reality finally sank in. </em></span></p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1"><em>It was five p.m., and the setting sun cast its fading light onto the captain.</em> </span> <em> <span class="s2">It looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie. One of those cheapskate ones Iwaizumi and Oikawa always laughed at together, where they exaggerated everything way too much. Except this time... It was all painfully real. Oikawa’s schoolbag has been partially painted with an almost-perfect spray of blood, the little red droplets glistening in the sunlight, some already absorbed by the dusty, dirt-covered fabric. Iwaizumi didn’t have to look far to find more crimson splatters and a long trail on the tar. His forearms and legs had been covered in road rash, and his chest looked deformed and...dented, like it’d been whacked so hard it caved inwards. A dark puddle was already spreading around Oikawa’s head, soaking his brown hair and staining the collar his shirt, steadily growing bigger across the sun-heated road. Even as Iwaizumi watched, he could see Oikawa’s skin turn pale as the blood slowly drained out of his body.</span> </em></p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">”Trashykawa?</span> </em> <em><span class="s2">H-Hey. Hey, wake up. Oikawa. Wake up.” Iwaizumi dropped to ground, his knees giving out as the panic set in. He shuffled towards his best friend, sitting cross-legged on the road and carefully pulling Oikawa’s upper body into his lap, slipping one arm on top of his torso, the other hand cupping the back of his skull. He propped the captain up against his own chest, trying to stop too much blood from flowing into his head. “Oikawa. Oikawa! Wake up. Come on, wake up! Don’t you dare die on me, Tooru. Don’t you dare.” Iwaizumi faintly registered that he was crying, but he didn’t care. There were bigger things to worry about. He heard footsteps as the lady in the car approached them, still too stunned to speak. “Call an ambulance,” Iwaizumi choked, swallowing hard, worry and panic making him feel sick to his stomach. “CALL AN AMBULANCE!!!”</span> </em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">Iwaizumi ripped off his jacket, balling it up and pressing it to the back of Oikawa’s head. As the woman hurriedly dialed for medics, he grabbed his phone, which was miraculously still in his pocket. Holding it and tapping anxiously on the screen with his clean hand, he called his mother, the only person he could think of. “Mom? Yeah, I’m fine, but Oikawa’s... Meet me at Miyagi General Hospital as soon as possible,” he said softly, looking down at his shirt and shorts which were already soaked with Oikawa’s warm blood. “And please bring me a change of clothes. Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. See you. Love you too.” He was stuck in a daze as he ended the call, his hands trembling, his field of vision narrowing down to the sight his best friend dying on the ground.</span> </em> <span class="s1"> Come on, Hajime. Now is not the time to freak out. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Taking a deep breath, he called Aoba Johsai’s middle blocker. “Mattsun? Call the rest of the team and come to MGH ASAP. I’ll— I’ll explain the rest there, okay? J-Just... hurry,” he stammered shakily, hanging up before his teammate Matsukawa had the time to ask any questions. </span><span class="s1">He felt like his heart was ripping into tiny little pieces, and he knew only Oikawa would be able to put them back together again. The captain was still unconscious, his beautiful face contorted in pain, full brows furrowed together. Iwaizumi wished for nothing more than to be able to take away that pain, than to bear it himself instead of watch his childhood friend suffer... But there was nothing he could do. </span></em></p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1"><em><span class="s2">It wasn’t long before the ambulance arrived. The entire time they waited, Iwaizumi held Oikawa in his lap, trying desperately to staunch the blood flowing rapidly from the back of his head. He vaguely registered that he was covered in drying blood, registered being wrapped in a warm blanket and helped into the back of the ambulance. He barely noticed the nurse handing him a bottle of water and telling him that he was going into shock. All he remembered was screaming, and struggling, and </span> </em> <span class="s2">fighting</span> <em><span class="s2"> with all his might as Oikawa, </span></em><span class="s1">his</span><em><span class="s2"> Oikawa, was ripped away from him.</span></em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you so much for reading!!! I know it’s kinda shitty, but I swear it’ll pick up in the next chapter. If you liked this, please hit that kudos button :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Regret</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Iwa breaks down 😫</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>The rest of the Aoba Johsai team and their coaches arrived at the Miyagi General Hospital while Oikawa was in the operating theatre. Iwaizumi was pacing back and forth in the corridor outside, his forearms and knees wrapped in light bandages, and anyone could tell that he was freaking out. Everybody was understandably unnerved at the sight of their vice-captain breaking down. Iwaizumi was the rock of the group, the constant support that everyone could depend on, the ‘mom friend’ if you will. If he was panicking......</em> <em>The situation had to be bad. Really bad.</em></span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">“Iwaizumi-san? What’s going on? Are you okay?” Matsukawa rapid-fired, seriously worried after seeing his friend so distressed. </span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>“I was running, and then there was a car coming towards me, and then he ran forward and tackled me out of the way, and then I heard a bang and a few cracks and he was on the ground and there was so much blood, oh my god, oh my god-“ Iwaizumi</em> <em>rambled, his breaths so shaky he was almost unintelligible.</em></span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s1">“Iwaizumi-san, p-please calm down!” Hanamaki Takahiro pleaded nervously, resting a comforting hand on Iwaizumi’s shoulder as the rest of the team crowded around them in the small hallway. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>And so Iwaizumi told them about what had happened, how he had lost his temper with Oikawa and ran across the road without</em> <em>checking for cars first, how Oikawa had shoved him sideways out of harm’s way and taken a hit meant for him. With all his panicking and hyperventilating, it was rather hard to understand him, but the team got the general gist of the story. They tried their best to comfort Iwaizumi, who had calmed down a bit, but now he looked like he was going to puke at any moment, and they really didn’t know which was worse. Soon after, Iwaizumi’s mom came with clean clothes, and he went to change out of his crusty, bloodstained volleyball jersey. She had called Oikawa’s</em> <em>parents, but they were in Shangai on a holiday, and they would only be able to make it back to Japan next week. There was nothing else anyone could do but wait anxiously.</em></span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"><em>At eight o’clock, the surgeon stepped out of the operating theatre, looking slightly relieved. “He’s stable for now, but we’re moving him to the Intensive Care Unit. He’s only unconscious from the anaesthesia, but there’s a possibility that he could lapse into a coma at any moment. Even</em> <em>though he’ll probably wake up when the sedatives wear off, we want to keep an eye on him. You’ll be able to see him in a bit.”</em></span>
</p><p class="p1"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">                              *</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s2">So that was how the volleyball boys of Aoba Johsai and Iwaizumi’s mom found themselves crowded around a hospital bed in an otherwise empty ICU ward at eight-thirty in the evening on a Tuesday night. They had just wheeled Oikawa in, pushing the metal bed frame against the wall and locking the wheels down. The doctor told them that he had five broken ribs and a fractured skull. The entire team was shocked, but Iwaizumi...... Iwaizumi took one look at Oikawa’s pale, expressionless face and felt something inside him break. </span> <em> <span class="s1">Why...why do I feel like crying so badly? Why would I...... Oh. But...I don’t love him. ......Do I? We were- we were just messing around when we kissed, weren’t we? </span> </em> <span class="s2">A single choked sob tripped its way out from between his lips before he slammed a hand over his mouth, eyes open wide in disbelief. </span> <em> <span class="s1">I... I didn’t want us to be just messing around, did I......?I love him. I love Oikawa Tooru. Okay, okay, you can think about this later, the team needs you right now. </span> </em> <span class="s2">He sucked in a shuddering breath, trying to centre himself. </span> <em> <span class="s1">......But am I dying? Yeah, I’ve gotta be dead. There’s no way I’m still alive after my heart squeezed that hard. </span> </em> <span class="s2">Against his will, a tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away furiously, but the walls of his emotional dam were crumbling. His face crumpled up as another sob tore out, the tears flowing faster now. </span> <em> <span class="s1">No. No! You’re not the one lying in a fucking hospital bed. Stop crying. You can’t...... </span> </em></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">Iwaizumi’s lip trembled, his lungs drawing in a shaky breath as he furiously tried to smooth out his face and compose himself, but he was fighting a losing battle. His mother sighed, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder from where she stood behind him. “Hajime...... It’s okay to cry, you know. Let it out.”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s1">No. I can’t be weak, I can’t show any weakness. Not in front of everybody. I need to be there for them. I can’t waver now, not when they need support too.</span> </em> <span class="s2"> “No, no I can’t, I-“ </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">“Yes, you can,” Yahaba Shigeru said softly, a gentle, sympathetic smile on his face. “You don’t have to be our rock all the time, it isn’t fair to you. You’re always there for us when we need you, and now......”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">“We’re here for you. We’re here for you, Iwa,” Kunimi Akira whispered earnestly, putting a hand on Iwaizumi’s other shoulder. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s1">Don’t. Don’t cry. Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry...... </span> </em> <span class="s2">Iwaizumi cried. And not just silent crying, oh no. There was nothing silent about the way he cried at all. Iwaizumi cried like his heart had been ripped straight out of his chest, years of feelings and emotions and affection and tears and </span><em><span class="s1">love </span></em><span class="s2">for Oikawa spilling out. His entire body was shuddering, his sobs so violent that he could barely breathe. “What if the last words I said to him were to tell him to shut up?” he choked, his face pressed into his hands. “I never even asked him out p-properly. I never told him that I loved him. I didn’t even know I loved him, and I never told him, and now I m-might never be able to.” Iwaizumi knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop himself. His friends were all too stunned to do anything but watch as their vice-captain cried till he had no tears left, the first time they had ever seen any type of vulnerability from him. They were still trying to recover from the shock of the whole situation.</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">Iwaizumi had stopped shaking, but there were still tears dripping between his fingers from his hands covering his face. “......Hajime?” his mother asked tentatively, walking back into the ward. She had gone outside a few minutes ago to make a couple of phone calls. “I’ve settled things with the police and the driver involved in the accident, and I called your school. You don’t have to go to classes tomorrow, and I got permission for you to stay here for the night, so......”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2">Iwaizumi sniffed and sat back in his chair, huffing out a breath and pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. </span> <span class="s2">“Yeah. I... Yeah. I’ll stay here tonight. As much as I want you guys to stay too, you should go home soon. It’s getting late,” he sighed, looking at everyone else in the room with red eyes. </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">“Alright, let’s go, everyone. Get some rest, Iwaizumi. ......It’s gonna be okay,” Coach Irihata said kindly, offering Iwaizumi a rare smile as he and Coach Mizoguchi shuffled the rest of the team out of the door, to many groans and complaints. They all said their goodbyes and left, promising to come visit Oikawa again after school the next day.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">A pregnant silence filled the ward, seeming almost physical in the way it seeped into every nook and cranny. “I’ll......I’ll give you two some space. Don’t stay up all night, Hajime,” Iwaizumi’s mother sighed and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead, then walking toward the closed door.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2">“Wait!” The word shot out of his mouth subconsciously before he could stop it. Iwaizumi gulped, trying to find the right words to convey his inner turmoil. “I... Umm... Mom...... I think I love him. No, I </span> <em><span class="s1">know </span></em><span class="s2">that I love him. I love Oikawa Tooru.”</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">His mother paused and turned back around, smiling slightly, cocking her head to the side with a tender look in her eyes. “I know.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">Iwaizumi did a double-take, certain that he had misheard her. “Uh...... I just said that I’m in love with my best friend. I’m in love with Oikawa. As more than a friend.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">Her smile grew wider. “I know.” She laughed then, a knowing chuckle. “I’ve known for a while now. Oikawa’s mom, too. You might have tried to deny your feelings, but you can’t deny the fact that they exist.” She walked forward and ran her hands through Iwaizumi’s messy, spiky hair, smoothing out the strands and cupping his face. “Use tonight to figure out your feelings. ......You have a good heart, Hajime. Follow it.” Smoothing her thumb along his cheekbone, she smiled gently. “I’d best get home. I’ll drop by and see you tomorrow, okay? I love you.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">“Love you too, Mom,” Iwaizumi sighed, leaning into his mother’s touch, forcing a smile and a wave as she left.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s2">As soon as his mother stepped out of the ward, Iwaizumi’s fake smile dropped. Now that his teammates were gone, he didn’t have any excuses to avoid thinking about his feelings for Oikawa. </span> <em> <span class="s1">Okay. So...... I love him. As more than just a friend. </span> </em> <span class="s2">He hadn’t realised how much Oikawa actually meant to him until he thought about having to live without his constant chattering and preening and ‘Iwa-chan!’s. </span> <em> <span class="s1">What if I never talk to him again? What if today was the last time I would ever hear his voice, or see him smile? </span> </em> <span class="s2">Before he knew it, the little semblance of calm he had regained shattered into pieces. He was crying again, hot tears burning their way down his face, sobbing so hard he could feel his head pound. As he hunched over Oikawa, squeezing the metal frame of the hospital bed, a choked moan squeezed its way out of his chest, which felt so tight it was honestly a struggle to breathe. He sat there for what felt like forever, the endless tears catching on his lashes and dripping off his trembling jaw. </span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">Iwaizumi was drained, mentally and emotionally exhausted, and heartbroken. Every time he thought that he had no tears left to cry, even more flowed down his face. His head hurt and it felt heavy, so heavy. His arms gave out, and he couldn’t help slumping forward and resting his forehead on Oikawa’s lap. “I’m sorry, Tooru. For everything.” As he started to drift off to sleep, his hot tears soaking Oikawa’s hospital gown, he felt a warm hand slide over the back of his neck to rest on the side of his face. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I feel like my writing is deproving...... :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Iwaizumi jerked up right, all of his exhaustion suddenly erased. “T-Tooru?” There, staring lazily back at him with that familiar smug grin on his face, was Oikawa Tooru. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Alive, awake, okay</span> </em> <span class="s1"> Oikawa Tooru. </span> <em> <span class="s2">His</span> </em> <span class="s1"> Oikawa Tooru. Iwaizumi scrubbed a hand across his face, wondering if it was all a figment of his imagination, if Oikawa was still unconscious. But he wasn’t. His skin was warm, his palm flush against the side of Iwaizumi’s face, a somewhat-healthy glow already coming back to his cheeks. </span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey, Iwa-chan. What’s going on? The last thing I remember was shoving you and getting hit by that car, and then passing out...... Why are you crying?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why am I crying?” Iwaizumi repeated breathlessly, still unable to reconcile with the fact that his Tooru was awake. His face was so hopeful and yet so sad at the same time that it was almost painful for Oikawa to look at. “Tooru...... I was so scared. There was blood all over the place, and you wouldn’t wake up...... <em>I thought I lost you</em>.”Iwaizumi scooted his chair closer to the bed, hesitantly reaching his left hand out and sliding his fingers snugly against Oikawa’s jaw and the base of his neck, his palm cupping his cheek, his right hand wrapping around Oikawa’s left wrist next to his face. “Why the hell would you do that? What if you got hurt so badly that you could never play volleyball again, huh? I’m not wor-“ </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Don’t you </span> <span class="s2">dare</span> <span class="s1"> say that you’re not worth it, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa said with conviction and pulled his hand back for support, trying to sit up and immediately wincing from the pain in his torso. “I’d rather get hurt than let you get hurt, because I -ow!- ......I care about you, Iwaizumi Hajime.” </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Lie back down, baka! You’re gonna hurt yourself even more-“ Iwaizumi hissed furiously, standing up and tucking an arm around Oikawa’s back to help take the pressure off his broken ribs.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Oikawa shook his head, but he quickly stopped when the room started spinning around. “No, help me sit up. Please.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Iwaizumi couldn’t find the heart to say no to those beautiful eyes. “Slowly, don’t rush.” He helped Oikawa wiggle upright and fluffed up his pillows, propping them behind him.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once he stopped moving, Oikawa let out a sigh of relief as Iwaizumi sat back down. “You’re worth it, Iwa-chan. And besides, I’ll be fine! I’m probably gonna be out of here and back on my feet by tomorrow. I <em>only</em> got hit by a car, you know. I’ll heal, no biggie,” he said, a smile pasted on his face. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Iwaizumi almost laughed; It was just such an Oikawa thing to say. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Almost</span></em><span class="s1">. He would have if he wasn’t on the verge of tears at Oikawa’s painfully fake smile, obviously put on for his sake. “No biggie?! Tooru, you can barely move. You have five broken ribs and head trauma. You split your skull open on the tarmac, there was blood <em>everywhere</em>, I was so </span> <em> <span class="s2">scared</span></em><span class="s1">.” The last part of Iwaizumi’s sentence was a broken sob. He thought that he was shouting, but his voice was no more than a choked whisper. He wove his fingers into Oikawa’s fluffy hair, tugging on the silky locks softly. “<em>Why</em>? Why the fuck would you do that for me?! You could’ve lost everything, just for someone who treats you like shit every day, and-“ </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Because...because I love you, Hajime. I know you don’t love me back, but......the heart loves who it wants to love, doesn’t it?” Oikawa laughed sadly, looking out the window at the dark sky outside. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“But I </span> <em> <span class="s2">do</span> </em> <span class="s1"> love you.” </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“......What? Iwaizumi Hajime, if this is some joke, I swear to god-“ </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“It’s not. I love you, Tooru. Fuck, I’ve loved you for </span> <em> <span class="s2">so long</span></em><span class="s1">, I just didn’t realise,” Iwaizumi hiccuped, grabbing Oikawa’s hands in his own and squeezing gently. “I never realised how much I loved you until today. Until you were bleeding out in my arms and I was screaming your name, but there was <em>nothing</em> I could do but wait for help. Until I was forced to think of a world without you in it. I’ve always felt something for you Tooru, I just didn’t know </span> <em> <span class="s2">what</span> </em> <span class="s1"> that something was. I ignored those feelings, pushing them away because I’d never felt them with anyone else before. I tried to get rid of them by being hostile to you, so maybe you’d finally hate me, give up and leave me alone. But today...... I realised that it was love all along.”</span></p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The entire time Iwaizumi was speaking, Oikawa was gaping at him, praying that he wasn’t still unconscious and that this wasn’t all in his head. </span> <em> <span class="s2">He...... I...what?</span> </em> <span class="s1"> “W-What are you saying, Iwa-chan?” he asked dazedly, still trying to process what was happening.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m saying I love you, Shittykawa. I love you so much. Could you... Is there any hope for me? At all? Will you forgive me?” Iwaizumi leaned forward, ghosting his fingers across Oikawa’s cheek. “Please, Tooru. I’ll kneel down right now and beg if I have to. I’ll buy you anything you want, do anything at all. Please... All I’m asking for is a chance to make things right. Will you be my boyfriend, Tooru? Officially?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“H-Hajime...... Do you really think I’ll say no? I do love too, you know,” Oikawa whispered, a disbelieving, carefree giggle bubbling out of his lips before he stopped, clutching his torso and wincing at the pain in his ribs. “What time is it?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“About......midnight.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>What</em>?! What the hell are you still doing here? Don’t you have school tomorrow?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hmmm? ......Oh! Nope! My mom got me an excused absence. I’m not going anywhere Tooru. But did you just say you......loved me?” </span>
</p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">Oh my god, he looks adorable. Like a confused puppy. </span> </em> <span class="s1">Oikawa grinned and rolled his eyes teasingly. “Yes, Hajime. Now come cuddle with me.”</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> “......Wait, what? I don’t wanna hurt you......” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, just come here already, you big baby.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Iwaizumi climbed into the bed, gently shifting Oikawa so that he was half lying on top of his chest and facing the ceiling. He threaded his arms carefully over Oikawa’s chest and under his arms, hitching his right knee between his legs. “So...... Are we dating now?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes, you idiot. Do I really need to spell it out for you, Hajime?” Oikawa let a laugh slip from between his perfect lips, his voice clear and sweet as a bell. Iwaizumi had always made fun of Oikawa for being dumb, but really, he was the stupid one.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Love. It was love all along.</span> </em>
</p>
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